Friday, May 17, 2013

This week's Fisgard Friday features on the left an HDR version of the lighthouse directly from the camera. For side-by-side comparison a "normal" single exposure is posted on the right above. All I've done here with these photos is to shrink them to one third of their size so they don't take forever to load. In the HDR case the camera took three exposures rapidly with one click of the shutter button and then merged them into one final shot. On the right is a single exposure. In this case I think I prefer the "normal" shot on the right but I really like the way the HDR version brings out the lichen on the rock and tones down the blown out brilliance of the lighthouse tower. Ultimately I think I would prefer something midway between the two, so I merged the above two photos in Photomatix to produce the version below.

Wow, this was a great exercise to share. Generally I dislike overly produce HDR shots, although bracketing a shot can look pretty natural, yet get the dynamics right. I do like the third version you created and feel it really captured what you intended. Those clouds and your point of view make the shot for me.-Kim

Situated on the far west coast of Canada, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is the capital city of the Province of British Columbia. Its benign climate (the warmest winters in Canada) and placid lifestyle make it a favorite retirement location as well as a popular tourist destination. About 400,000 people live in Victoria and adjacent communities.Click the photos to see them larger!